Always and Forever (41 page)

“The aunts will probably erect a statue in your honor. Boys are rare in our family.”

He then placed a kiss on her brow. “I’ll love you always, Grace.”

With tears in her eyes, she whispered, “And I’ll love you always, too, Jackson. Always and forever.”

Author’s Note

Always and Forever
is another story generated by you, my fans. After the 1997 publication of my fifth Avon novel,
Topaz
, the mail began rolling in. Most of you wanted to know what happened to Jackson Blake and the redheaded hellion Grace Atwood, so as usual, your wish is my command. I hope you enjoyed the ride.

William Welles Brown, the author of
Clotel; or the President’s Daughter,
lived from 1815 to 1884. He escaped from slavery on New Year’s Day, 1834. During his fifty years of freedom, he wrote more than sixteen published works, ranging from a chronicle of his own escape titled
Narrative of William W. Brown, Fugitive Slave, Written by Himself
(1847) to the first drama written by an American of African descent, titled
The Escape, or a Leap for Freedom
(1858). He also authored a number of Black history books. Two that I’d love to
get my hands on are
The Black Man, His Antecedents, His Genius, and His Achievements
(1863) and
The Negro in the American Rebellion, His Heroism and His Fidelity
(1867).

Interestingly enough, when
Clotel
was finally published in the United States, almost ten years after the British edition, the title was changed to
Clotelle: A Tale of the Southern States,
and Currer’s daughters were no longer fathered by Thomas Jefferson, but by a senator. The original version was not published in the United States until
1969
!

Here’s a list of some of the books I used to help with the telling of Grace and Jackson’s story; some are old and out of print, but others are readily available. Please consult with your bookseller or local librarian if you need help with your search.

Bolster, W. Jeffrey.
Black Jacks: African American Seamen in the Age of Sail
. Harvard University Press.1997. Cambridge, MA.

Franklin, John Hope.
Runaway Slaves: Rebels on the Plantation.
Oxford University Press. 1999. New York.

Magill, Frank N., ed.
Masterpieces of African-American Literature
. HarperCollins. 1992. New York.

Mullane, Deirdre, ed.
Crossing the Danger Water: Three Hundred Years of African-American Writing
. Anchor Books. 1993. New York.

Rogers, J. A.
Sex and Race.
Vol. 1. Rogers. 1967. St. Petersburg, FL.

Sherman, Joan R., ed.
African-American Poetry: An Anthology: 1773–1927
.Dover Publications. 1997. New York.

Spear, Allan H.
Black Chicago
. University of Chicago Press. 1967. Chicago.

Webster, Donovan. “Pirates of the Whyda.”
National Geographic
(May 1999).

A special shout-out to all the ladies, and the three husbands who attended my pajama party last May. Thanks for such a marvelous time. Yes, we’re going to do it again—I just don’t know when. Special thanks also to the fans in Australia, Canada, England, and the Islands for their wonderful letters. Welcome to the fan family.

In closing, I want to
give
thanks for all the prayers, letters, and words of encouragement that continue to flow my way. Sista fans of all races and denominations—you are the best. I am blessed by your support. Until next time.

Peace.

About the Author

BEVERLY JENKINS has received numerous awards, including three Waldenbooks Best Sellers Awards, two Career Achievement Awards from
Romantic Times magazine
, and a Golden Pen Award from the Black Writer¹s Guild. In 1999, Ms. Jenkins was voted one of the Top Fifty Favorite African-American writers of the 20th Century by AABLC, the nations largest on-line African-American book club. To read more about Beverly, visit her website at
www.beverlyjenkins.net.

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Copyright

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

ALWAYS AND FOREVER
. Copyright © 2000 by Beverly Jenkins. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

ePub edition January 2007 ISBN 9780061736476

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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Table of Contents

Chapter 1 February 1, 1884 Dear Cousin Grace, Greetings from Kansas. I hope my letter finds you well. As you know, I’ve joined the Great Exodus and am now a member of a newly founded colony in southern Kansas. It has not been an easy task, trying to carve out a life in a place where none has existed before, but we’ve done it. We’ve built houses, cleared land, and put in our first crops. Now, many of the unmarried men wish to start families but lack the most necessary element—wives. We’re wondering if you could make inquiries on our behalf as to whether any decent, god-fearing women in Chicago would be willing to travel here and marry. I’m writing to you because no one else knows of anyone capable of taking on such a daunting task. Our men are stalwart individuals, most are educated, and many like me are veterans of Mr. Lincoln’s war. Since new men are arriving weekly, by the time this letter reaches you, we will undoubtedly need between thirty and thirty-five women. If you decide to ta

Chapter 1

Chapter 2 Grace looked out over the sea of women who’d come to the church in response to the flyers she’d posted for bride candidates and was amazed. She’d never expected so many. Women of all shapes, ages, and sizes were squeezed into the pews. Most had come dressed in their Sunday best and the sight of such a colorful display of hats, gloves, and dresses on such a dreary rainy evening filled her with joy. A buzz of voices also filled the church as some of the women greeted old friends and speculated on the meeting to come. A few were seated quietly, hands in laps, while others were gazing around speculatively as if gauging the competition and their chances of being among the chosen brides Grace was standing at the back of the church, greeting women as they arrived. She smiled as Tulip and Dahlia entered, shaking the rain from their parasols. They’d kept their promise to come to lend her moral support. After greeting Grace, Tulip looked over the crowd and said in an amazed voice, “My

Chapter 2

Chapter 3 True to his word, he arrived the next morning at exactly six-thirty. Grace greeted him at the door dressed and ready to go. She stepped back to let him enter and said coolly, “As you can see, I already have on my hat.” Figuring he’d earned that crack, Jackson stepped inside. While she closed the door, he studied the olive green hat on her head, the full green skirt and matching jacket, and the black high-heeled boots. “I thought we were going to look over some horses.” “We are.” “You look like you’re going to tea.” Out west, women wore hats to protect them from the sun or to church; here, women wore confections. “How would you describe that?” he asked, holding her faintly hostile eyes. “My hat?” “Yes, your hat.” “It’s olive colored and made of fine Milan straw. It’s medium high and has a round top. The material draped around the brim and crown is made of crêpe, and the ribbons and bow on the front are faced with black velvet and gimp.” “That’s what I thought.” Grace didn’t ca